Residents voice frustrations with planning process

Planning Meeting. Toronto’s former chief planner, Paul Bedford, addresses residents during a planning meeting at Malvern Collegiate to help area residents better understand how to navigate the planning process. Staff photo/JOANNA LAVOIE

Time and time again, he urged residents - many of whom expressed frustration as well as feelings of cynicism and disempowerment - to educate themselves as much as possible on zoning bylaws, design guidelines and avenue studies, and present alternatives and clear options to developers when they're not happy with what's being proposed.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do. It's your community and you've got to figure it out," said Bedford, who currently works as an adjunct professor of urban and regional planning at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto, adding there are a lot of main streets in the Beach with one- and two-storey buildings that should be intensified.

"Battling it out is not the only option and if you choose to fight, know what you're getting in to. Time is money and for developers time is real money."

Further, Bedford said planning isn't about whether neighbours "like" or "want" a development but really about what people can "live" with.

He also urged area residents to develop a positive working relationship with their local planner and his or her manager so they can better understand the process and be better represented.

About 40 people, from various parts of the Beach affected by different development proposals and projects, gathered in the library at Malvern Collegiate for the "chat", which was organized by Beaches-East York Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon.

"I'm very frustrated with the way development has gone on since I've (been) here," said the Ward 32 representative, who, in the New Year, plans on holding a guided walk along Queen Street East discussing local zoning and community planning.

"I would like us to work on a big plan for our ward."

McMahon's new Executive Assistant Jane Farrow, who formerly served as the executive director of Jane's Walks, said a coherent plan is needed when it comes to local planning issues.

"A lot of clarity is required," she said.

Representatives from several local residents groups feel the same way and have been meeting for the past few months to talk about forming an umbrella group that would represent their position in a stronger way before the city, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and developers.

People at the meeting talked about the future of the OMB, the provincial land-use tribunal developers often appeal to when their proposals or re-zoning applications are either denied or take too long to be dealt with by city council.

They also raised concerns at the meeting about confusion pertaining to a 2010 motion by Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher and then-councillor Sandra Bussin that exempted a portion of Queen Street East in the Beach from the existing avenues study.

Jason Self, a member of the recently formed group Friends of Queen Street, said area residents aren't necessarily "anti-development" but emphasized the importance of respecting existing zoning bylaws.

"We want to have a dialogue," said Self, whose group was formed in response to a development application to build Lakehouse Beach Residences, a high-end six-storey, 29-unit condominium at 1960-1962 Queen St. E., the current home of Lick's Homeburgers.

"Be proactive. Be realistic. Don't just say no. Have alternatives, options," was Bedford's response to his question about what is the best angle for handling the many local development proposals expected to come up in the next year or two.

"Until the system changes, you've got to do that."

Margaret MacLeod, a Rainsford Road resident, spoke about the need for public transit to expand as density is increased throughout the city.

Bedford, who sits on the board of directors for Metrolinx, agreed with her comment and said the population of the Greater Toronto Area is expected to reach 10 million by 2031.

"We're a big place and just going to get bigger," he said, adding a sobering investment strategy will be required to create adequate transit options to move people around the region effectively.

Martin Gladstone, who has been actively involved in fighting a condominium development from encroaching on the Glen Davis Ravine near Kingston Road and Main Street, said residents feel they're left out of the process from the beginning.

"It all boils down to residents having to work with a broken system. It's a general erosion of confidence," he said.

Monday evening's meeting was the first of many planning meetings planned for Ward 32, McMahon assured.

"It's a whole community that needs to have their say," she said, adding it's "ridiculous" to take a piecemeal approach to local development applications.